Click the pic for a closer look. Okay, the blue willow painting didn’t work out. Sadly, it won’t be coming home with me. So, here we are..another Corkboard with plans for the living room. This time a pair of nature prints from the collection at the New York Public Library is the focus. I think the patterns in the butterfly wings play off of the colors and shapes in the vintage japanese and african fabrics we’ll be using for pillows.

Over the past couple of years I’d become wrapped up in achieving someone else’s aesthetic in my home. When I moved in with my husband I felt like I had to abandon my preferences and find new, correct opinions regarding matters of style. We’d been having such trouble agreeing on how to move furnish our rooms that I began consulting the books for blueprints instead of inspiration. That seemed to be the best solution to the lack of compromise–a style that belonged to neither of us. All the while I kept wondering why we could never commit to finishing our place, why we so uncomfortable.

These titles are part of my un-design collection of style books. They explore how interiors function as part of our lives, in both in the practical and emotional sense. Understanding how homes fulfill human needs gives you a foundation for creating your own stylish and comfortable dwelling.

Eva Zeisel and Jonathan Adler are among the contributors to Home, a collection of essays edited by Stafford Cliff. Artists share memories of the experiences that shaped their sense of style and how this is reflected in their spaces. Terence Conran’s Easy Living gives sound lessons in form, function and comfort. The I-Ching of domesticity, Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan’s Apartment Therapy takes you through a therapeutic process to “cure” your home which you can and should perform over and again. It’s not as new age as it sounds so, don’t be wary.

Jean Dechamy’s photos grace A Passion for Collecting which features essays on the homes of collectors including Arman and Versace. Each space has been designed to house the its occupants collections rather than the converse. Robyn Griggs Lawrence’s, The Wabi-Sabi House distills the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection for a Western audience. And because you can’t love what you don’t understand there’s Cheryl Mendleson’s Home Comforts, an enjoyable read as well as a reference and resource book for all manner of housekeeping.

Click the pic for a closer look. A third cork board in my set of plans for the living room, Afro-Scandi. The sculptural shapes and a mix of global patterns are the focus this time around. The influenced palette is the same as in previous versions of the room– blue, brown, black, white, gray, rust and indigo. Here, it feels quiet, warmer and more homey, I think.

Joelle Le Bussy of Arte Gallery in Dakar

Inspiration for the Afro-Scandi style–Joelle Le Bussy’s work above. Thanks to Pattern and Texture By Essence for posting the photo. You can see how heavily Scandinavian design was influenced by African form.